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Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith has emailed his supporters confirming he will resign his seat in the House of Commons and invited volunteers to an event to celebrate his decade of public service.
He was elected in Beaches-East York in 2015 and briefly served as housing minister in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s final cabinet and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first cabinet.
Erskine-Smith’s email does not say whether he still plans to run for the Ontario Liberal leadership.
His plans to jump to the provincial party hit a snag last month when he lost the Liberal nomination for a byelection in a provincial riding that overlaps with his federal riding.
Erskine-Smith contested the results, arguing there were irregularities with the nomination contest, but the party rejected his appeal in late May.
The email does not say when Erskine-Smith intends to leave Parliament and the MP has not responded to a request for comment.
He previously ran for Ontario Liberal leadership in 2023, finishing in second place.
Byelections on the horizon
Erskine-Smith joins a handful of MPs expected to resign at the end of this parliamentary sitting, meaning voters could be looking at five byelections before the end of the summer.
Former environment minister Steven Guilbeault announced late last month that he would be leaving his seat at the end of the sitting, citing concerns about Canada “backsliding” on climate action. B.C. MP Jonathan Wilkinson has been named Canada’s next ambassador to the European Union.
Independent MP Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay left the Bloc Québécois caucus and plans to run for the Parti Québécois in the fall provincial election. Former NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice also plans to run provincially, with Québec Solidaire, and is sitting as an Independent MP until then.
